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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chip · pit · last · band · bowl · spring · wound · bay

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pit — a hole
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pit — in a race
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. band — a ring
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. spring — the season
  10. last — to go on
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. chip — for betting
  18. spring — of water
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. spring — a coil
  21. band — a music group
  22. last — final
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. last — finally

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com